Device for preventing flies from entering open doorways.



No. 877,602. PATENTED JAN 28, 1908.

J. SHUMATE. Y DEVIGE'FOR PREVENTING FLIES PROM'ENTERING OPEN DOORWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED MARJZ. 1906.

a K 4% JK 1n: mmms Psrzgs co., WASHINGTO o c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH W. SHUMATE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GLENN W. WHITE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, AND ONE-HALF TO VERNIE LOOKWOOD, OF MOT- LEY, MINNESOTA.

DEVICE FOR PREVENTING FLIES FROM ENTERING OPEN DOORWAYS.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1908.

Application filed March 12. 1906. Serial No. 305.719.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosEPn W. SHUMATE,

' a citizen of the United States, residing at ways; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has for its especial object to provide an improved device for preventing flies and other flying insects from entering a house or other building while a screen or other door, for that matter, is given its openmg and closmg movement, as required to permit a person to pass through the doorway.

To the above ends the invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in' the claims.

The improved device is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation, with some parts broken away, showing the invention applied to a screen door, said parts being viewed from the outer side of the door. Fig. 2 is a detail view in elevation, showing the upper right hand portions of the parts shown in Fig. 1, and showing the door swung open and sectioned.

' Fi 3 is a section taken approximately on the line 00' :0 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line or x of Fig. 3.

The numeral 1 indicates a door frame and the numeral 2 indicates an ordinary screen door supported therefrom in the-usual way, by hinges 3. The door is put under tension to close by a yielding device preferably in the form of a spring actuated drum, which also aflords the motive power for operating the so-called agitators, the latter being located on the door casing close to the door opening, all as will be hereinafter described. This spring actuated drum or sheave 4, is loosely mounted on a projecting stud 5 of a plate 6, which, in turn, is rigidly secured to the door frame above the hinged side of the door, and it is put under strain to rotate in the direction of the arrow marked thereon in Fig. 1., by. a flat coiledspring 7, one end of which is attached thereto and the other end of which is attached to the said stud 5. Wound upon and secured to the drum 4, is a cord or flexible connection 8 that is passed under a guide sheave 9 on the door frame and is attached at its outer engil to a bracket 10 on the upper portion of the screen door 2.

. So-called agitators which are preferably in the form of reticulate blades 11 formed of wire screens are secured to shafts 12. One of these blades is horizontally disposed, and its shaft 12 is looselyjournaled in bearings 13 and 14 on the door-frame, above the doorway. This horizontal shaft is, formed in sections that are connected by a loosely coiled spring 15. At its inner end, the shaft 15 is provided with a bevel pinion 16 of the frictional or toothless type. The second. agitating blade 11 is vertically disposed and. its shaft 12 is journaled in suitable bearings 17 secured on the door frame adjacent to the free edge of the door 2. The two shafts 12 are connected by a flexible shaft section 18 in the form of a coiled spring.

The shaft bearing 14 is, as shown, cast 1ntegral with the bearing plate 6; and between this bearing and the spring driven drum 4, a

stud 19 projects from said plate and affords a pivotal bearing for an oscillatory U-shaped bearing head 20. A short countershaft 21 is journaled in the prongs of the bearing 20 and extends at approximately a right angle to the aXis of the upper and horizontally disposed shaft 12. At one end, this countershaft 21 is provided with a. sheave 22 around which the door closing cord or cable 8 is passed one or.more times, so that it engages the said sheave with considerable friction.

Secured to the shaft 21, between the prongs of the bearing head 20, is a pair of laterally spaced reversely beveled friction wheels or gears 23, that are so spaced that a very slight oscillatory movement of the hearing head 20, will move the friction wheels 23 alternately into and out. of engagement with the friction pinion 1.6. The said pinion 16 is preferably provided with a soft rubber face to increase the frictional driving action between the said gears and pinion.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the door is swung open the cord Sis, of course, drawn outward against the tension of the spring actuated drum 4, and under this movement the counter shaft 21 and gears 23 will be rotated in a direction reverse from that shown by the arrow marked thereon in Fig. 3, and the lowermost gear 23 will be thrown into frictional engagement with the bevel pinion 16, thereby rotating the shafts 12 and agitator blades 11, in the direction of the arrows marked thereon'in Figs. 1 and 3.

When the door is released, and allowed to swing closed, under the tension of the spring driven drum 4, the said drum becomes a driver and rotates the counter shaft 21 and gears 23 in the direction of the arrow marked thereon in Fig. 3, and forces the upper frictional gear 23 into engagement with the frictional pinion 16, thereby continuing the rotary movements of the shafts 12 and agitator blades 11 in thesame direction in which they were driven when the door was opened. It is, of course, obvious that when the door is-opened, the drawing action on the cord 8 will swing the U-shaped bearing head 20, on the stud 19, thereby forcing the lower frictional gear 23 into engagement with the bevel pinion 16; and, on the other hand, when the door is closed, the spring 7, by its pulling force on the cord 8, will swing the U-shaped bearing head 20 on the stud 19 in a direction reverse from that just described, thereby pulling the lower frictional gear 23 out ofengagement with the bevel pinion 16 and forcing the upper frictional gear 23 into engagement with the bevel pinion 16. This continuation of the rotary movements of the shafts 12 in the same di rection, under reverse rotary movements of the counter shaft 21, is, of course, due to the fact that the frictional gears 23 engage alternately with the upper and lower portions of the frictional pinion 16. It is also important to note that the agitator blades 11 rotate in a direction to force the flies, or

. other insects, outward and away from the door opening, under both movements of the door.

'The-so-called agitating blades may take a great many different forms, and may be made of a great many diflerent materials, but in their best form they are made of woven wire screen. This material permits used in connection with other kind of doors. I

What I claim is:

'1. The combination with a door, of a yielding door closing device, a rotary agitator mounted in the vicinity of the door opening, and a connection between said agitator and said door closing device, including alternately acting driving gears operating under different movements of said connection and of said door, to rotate said agitator in a constant direction, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a door, of a rotary agitator, the shaft of which is journaled in bearings in the vicinity of the door opening, and is provided with a friction pinion, an oscillatory bearing head mounted in the vicinity of said pinion, a shaft journaled in said bearing head and provided with friction wheels alternately engageable with opposite sides of said pinion, a sheave on said countershaft, a spring actuated drum, and a flexible connection attached to said drum and to the door, for closing the latter, and which connection is passed around the sheave of said countershaft and imparts oscillatory and reverse rotary movements thereto, whereby the agitator will be rotated in the same direction under both opening and closing movements of the door, substantially as described.

In testimony .whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH WV. SHUMATE.

Witnesses MALIE HoEL, H. D. KILGORE. 

